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Did you know…
Poet and Belfast native Ciaran Carson was raised as a native Irish speaker by his parents, who were NOT raised as native speakers, but … here is how Carson explains it in a 2004 remembrance of his father, a postman who was also an Esperanto speaker: It was in the Belfast GPO [General Post Office]…
Continue ReadingPoem of the Week: “To Be Said” by Vona Groarke
To Be Said Let’s walk the shoreline with it all to be said and nothing between us but salt. Let the waves trip on the part of your name I don’t dare. Let the shingle cup your footfall and the sea-wind straddle the breath you don’t use. We’ll hold our tongues. Let you say nothing,…
Continue ReadingA Lil’ Bit of Lit. Crit.
The Antioch Review provided a lovely insight into both the cover art and the poetry of Medbh McGuckian’s My Love Has Fared Inland. Describing the cover, Smith writes: “Just look at this, the reader might say, with the critics who have emphasized the painter’s practice within McGuckian’s poems: ‘A gray trembling flame left the ceilings…
Continue ReadingPoetry & Music
Ireland has given us many pleasures, poetry and music among them. The only thing better than Irish music or poetry is an Irish poem sung in a song. Irish Folk singer Christy Moore has done just that with the title track off his latest album, “Folk Tale,” written by Irish poet Paula Meehan. Moore tells…
Continue ReadingDid You Know…
We’re back! After weeks of working on redesigning our blog we have finally finished and are excited to post again. Today is the first in what will become a series of posts on little known facts about our poets. We will start with one of the poets who just joined us on our Women’s Anthology…
Continue ReadingNews Updates
Hello everyone! Some updates on the wonderful world of Irish poetry in North America: We have received Brendan Kennelly’s newest book, The Essential Brendan Kennelly, today! Very exciting news. The Women’s Anthology tour is well underway. The ladies have since been in Chicago, Pittsburgh, and New York, with great crowds at each place. Thank you everyone…
Continue ReadingLittle Change, Big Change
Proofing for Harry Clifton we slowly realized that somewhere between the original hard copy and the more recent copy he sent us, a few changes had been made. Some of these changes are minimal: a new comma, or a period replaced by an ellipse. But other changes are significant enough to alter the meaning of…
Continue ReadingA healthy dose of poetry
As the spring semester is flying by, we have two days left in March and then it will be…National Poetry Month! National Poetry Month was started in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets and is held every April. It is a time when anyone from poetry publishers to libraries and schools come together to…
Continue ReadingA Hundred Doors
Michael Longley’s new book A Hundred Doors is already getting rave reviews! Check out this great article in The Guardian about his latest book. And here’s a sneak peak at one of the poems: A Hundred Doors God! I’m lighting candles again, still the sentimental atheist, family Names a kind of prayer or poem, my…
Continue ReadingCelebrate St. Patrick’s Day Your Way!
I always enjoy St. Patrick’s Day because, well, green is without a doubt my favorite color, but also because it’s a great excuse for a party! People seem to generally get more bawdy and more mischievous on this day, whether they understand the true meaning of the holiday or not. But did you know that…
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